A milk-coagulating ENZYME produced by the lining of the stomach. Rennin converts milk protein (caseinogen) into insoluble casein, thus ensuring that milk stays in the stomach for some time, during which it can be digested by various enzymes before passing into the small intestine.
n. an enzyme produced in the stomach that coagulates milk. It is secreted by the gastric glands in an inactive form, prorennin, which is activated by hydrochloric acid. Rennin converts caseinogen (milk protein) into insoluble casein in the presence of calcium ions. This ensures that the milk remains in the stomach, exposed to protein-digesting enzymes, for as long as possible. The largest amounts of rennin are present in the stomachs of young mammals.
That part of milk which forms cheese or curds. It is produced by the union of a substance, caseinogen, dissolved in the milk, with lime salts also dissolved in the milk – the union being produced by the action of rennin, a ferment from the stomach of the calf. The same change occurs in the human stomach as the ?rst step in the digestion of milk, and therefore when milk is vomited curdled it merely shows that digestion has begun.... casein
The term applied to any semi-solid mass of blood, lymph or other body ?uid. Clotting in the blood is due to the formation of strings of FIBRIN produced by the action of a ferment. Milk clots in a similar manner in the stomach when exposed to the action of the enzyme rennin. Clotting occurs naturally when blood is shed and comes into contact with tissues outside the blood vessels. It occurs also at times in diseased vessels (THROMBOSIS), producing serious effects upon the tissues supplied or drained by these vessels. Clots sometimes form in the heart when the circulation is failing. (See COAGULATION; EMBOLISM.)... clot
the liquid secreted by the *gastric glands of the stomach. Its main digestive constituents are hydrochloric acid, mucin, *rennin, and pepsinogen. The acid acts on pepsinogen to produce *pepsin, which functions best in an acid medium. The acidity of the stomach contents also kills unwanted bacteria and other organisms that have been ingested with the food. Gastric juice also contains *intrinsic factor, which is necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12.... gastric juice
Health Encyclopedia